Sunday, September 18, 2011

UrbanLeaves invites one and all to the Second National Seminar On Urban Gardening to be held in Mumbai on December 10, 11 & 12th - 2011.

A two day seminar-cum-workshop with an optional half day workshop on preparation of Amrut Mitti (on the third day) is designed to excite and enthuse the experienced urban gardeners across the country and to whet the appetite of novice urban gardeners. We hope the workshop will also be an opportunity for urban food farmers to find and connect with fellow enthusiasts.

This is a pre-invite announcement for many of you from different parts of the country to book/block your train tickets. A detailed invite with registration forms will be sent out within a week.

We expect that our enthusiastic urban gardener friends have already marked their calendars! Now to help the fence sitters to make up their mind, some highlights of what we have planned for you!

Day One: 10th December 2011 - Saturday

·Earthcare, Peoplecare, Fairshare- Permaculture principles!

Principles of Permaculture by Clea Chandmal

A bio-technologist and permaculture practioner who farms in Goa , Clea will have an interactive session with hands on demo of good Urban Permaculture

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

With all the excitement building up for KGI day in Mumbai and other cities, it was a little scary to see all those dark clouds building up for the famous Mumbai rains which can simply disrupt all normal life.

We had been praying for a bright sunny day on 28th August, however the rain gods had other things in mind!

Braving the flooded streets, erratic schedule of local trains and uncertainty our volunteers reached the venue in time their faces shining happily with the joy of showing off and sharing their prized harvests!As Anju Venkat later correctly observed, she was here to talk about not just a food but a special harvest which was as dear to us as were our babies!

Our group from Nana Nani Park gathered early morning at the Chowpatty, harvested the produce and joined the rest of the gang at Maharashtra Nature Park.

The community garden at MNP awaited everyone with healthy, happy harvests...Thankfully the rains had taken a breather...while we toured the garden!

A brief talk by Uday Acharyaji on the basic purpose of celebrating the World Kitchen Day, dotted with his heart warming and disarming sense of humour brought laughter amongst all those present.

The love that gardeners all across the world share is the sight of their gardens, early morning. Oh! to be greeted by those beautiful blooming flowers, fruits and lush greens every morning. The joy spreads everywhere and to everyone....

So very aptly the session began with a beautiful song by Swati ; the words so befitting the emotions of fellow gardeners when they see their blooms first thing in the morning.

Edelwiess , Edelwiess

Every morning you greet me

Small and white, clean and bright

you look happy to meet me.

Blossom of snow, may you bloom and grow

bloom and grow forever

Edelwiess , Edelwiess

Bless my homeland forever....

The most awaited session by Anju Venkat from The Health Awareness Center began...The Health Awareness center was established in 1989 by Dr Vijaya Venkat who is a pioneer in the promotion of of holistic health principles.The idea of having this particular session on this day was for kitchen gardeners to realize that all the love and care they pour into growing their plants and harvesting the produce can be lost if they dont utilize the same wisely. Our bodies are like plants too and food is the nourishing soil says Anju Venkat. So if we grow organic, we need to cook it organically too....A humble attempt to reach out to all fellow gardeners with this message.....The videos are made by our volunteers, without much professional equipment. However their content and the wise words is what we wish to share with you all....Pl do watch and hear patiently.....

The highlight of the occasion were the talk and demos by ‘Anju Venkat’, a nutritionist at the Health Awareness Centre for the last 16 years. Drawing an apt and convincing analogy between ‘Amrut mitti’ and food, she explained that health is the result of healthful living or living according to the laws of nature. She spoke about the importance of consumption of organic food and ways of cooking that would preserve its nutritive value, bring out its flavours and colours to the maximum and provide optimum nourishment. This was followed by a cookery demo conducted by her, utilizing the plant yield contributed by the volunteers.

The afternoon session left everyone awe-struck by the premier screening of the documentary on the ‘Urban leaves’- "Reap what you sow, eat what you grow" filmed by Suma Josson , that would not fail to inspire anyone who watched it.

The celebration ended with a fervent group discussion eliciting from the participants not only their ideas but also assurance to carry the movement forward by spreading awareness and educating minds about the merits of urban farming.

All in all, a highly enjoyable, gratifying, inspiring and fulfilling experience that made everyone depart in a sunny spirit despite it being one of the wettest days of the season.